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月光族想賺點外快，花200美金買材料做樣品，從只有親友捧場到年營收3000萬美金，全靠「這個」 — Transcript

by Brayden Chen · 5,264 words · 894 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00In 2014, in Utah, USA, a young man and
0:03his cousin were in a basement working on
0:06a wallet prototype.
0:08Their materials were Tyvek bags and
0:10elastic bands taken from running
0:12headbands; the total cost of everything
0:14was about 200 dollars.
0:17That was their entire investment to
0:19start the business, but why would he
0:20want to make wallets to sell?
0:22He studied accounting in college, but
0:24after graduating and working as an
0:25auditor for a year, he couldn't take it
0:27anymore.
0:28Although he switched jobs later, his
0:30monthly paycheck was just enough to get
0:32by with almost no savings, and he was
0:34about to become a father, so he wanted
0:35to make some extra money selling wallets
0:37while learning how to run a business.
0:40They put the wallet on the crowdfunding
0:42platform Kickstarter with a funding goal
0:44of 10,000 dollars. At first, they
0:45reached out to everyone they knew—
0:47family, friends, and acquaintances—
0:49messaging them one by one to ask for
0:51support.
0:52After a week, they had gone through
0:54everyone they knew, yet they were still
0:56only getting a handful of orders each
0:57day.
0:58Right at that moment, they tried a
1:00different approach, and as a result,
1:02their daily funding jumped 40 times,
1:04peaking at 8,000 dollars in a single day
1:06. When the 30 days were up, over 6,000
1:08people had backed them, and they had
1:10raised 171,000 dollars. What’s even
1:12crazier is that this was just the
1:14beginning; they later used the same
1:16strategy to expand from wallets to
1:18backpacks, travel bags, and luggage,
1:20raising over 15.7 million dollars
1:22through crowdfunding, and their brand
1:24now generates over 30 million dollars in
1:26annual revenue.
1:27This is the story of Jacob Durham and
1:29J.N. Witches, the subjects of this
1:31episode of "Small Things, Big Money."
1:34This is the first episode in the series
1:36with two protagonists, and Jacob and
1:38J.N.'s products evolved from wallets to
1:40backpacks, travel bags, and luggage,
1:42with their main user profile being
1:43travel enthusiasts. Travel has many pain
1:46points, but it also hides many business
1:48opportunities; from a business
1:49perspective, you can find ways to help
1:51travelers save money. Save them time or
1:53save them trouble; as long as you truly
1:55solve a problem for them, there is an
1:57opportunity to make money. One pain
1:59point almost everyone encounters when
2:00traveling abroad is that getting online
2:02is expensive, and this episode's sponsor
2:04, Airalo, solves exactly that problem.
2:06So now, before I go on an international
2:08trip, I always make sure to prepare an
2:10eSIM. Before traveling, you just need to
2:12download the Airalo app, choose the
2:13country or region you are visiting,
2:15select a data plan that suits you, and
2:17you can activate it directly on your
2:19phone; no need to hunt for a SIM card
2:21locally, and no need to install a new
2:23eSIM for every country you visit. SC now
2:25supports over 200 travel destinations,
2:27with local, regional, and global plans
2:29to choose from. What I find most
2:31practical for frequent travelers is that
2:33you know exactly how much data you've
2:35bought and how much you've spent before
2:36you leave, making your budget easier to
2:38manage.
2:39Besides eSIM, it also includes security
2:42features like virtual locations, ad
2:44blocking, and web protection.
2:47For me, these features provide extra
2:48peace of mind when using public WiFi
2:50abroad or looking up information on the
2:52go.
2:55If you have upcoming travel plans, you
2:57can use my exclusive link at .com/baden
3:00and enter the promo code "bryd" at
3:02checkout to get an exclusive 15%
3:04discount on SC data plans.
3:08I've placed the link and promo code in
3:09the video description.
3:11Thanks again for sponsoring this video.
3:15Back to our story: one of the
3:17protagonists, Jacob, grew up in Arizona
3:19, lived in Japan during high school, and
3:21went to BYU in Utah to study accounting
3:24.
3:25Why did he choose accounting?
3:28It's because he asked the successful
3:29people he knew, and every one of them
3:31told him to study accounting first to
3:33understand money, as it's the most
3:34important part of business.
3:37After graduating, he landed an auditing
3:39job, but he couldn't stand it after
3:41about a year.
3:43He said that just thinking about the
3:44daily commute and business trips made
3:46him feel like he couldn't go on living
3:47like that.
3:49What he really loved was design; he said
3:51that if he could live his life over
3:52again, he would probably be an
3:54industrial designer.
3:56The other protagonist of this story is
3:58Jacob's cousin, John.
3:59John started working part-time in
4:01furniture sales during high school.
4:03Later, when the company filed for
4:05bankruptcy, he thought instead of
4:07looking for another job, why not start
4:09his own business?
4:10And what kind of business was it?
4:12You'd never guess: washing trash cans
4:14for neighbors.
4:17He would wait for trash collection day,
4:19and once the bins were empty, he’d go
4:21door-to-door with a hose, cleaning
4:23supplies, and a brush.
4:26He would say, "I just finished washing
4:27your neighbor's bin, would you like me
4:29to wash yours while I'm at it?"
4:31It was $ 20 per bin.
4:34Although the work was dirty, John said
4:36he could make as much money in one day
4:37as his friends made in an entire week of
4:39working part-time.
4:42Later, John also went to BYU to study
4:44business management, as he loved trying
4:46out different things.
4:49After finishing his church mission, he
4:51went to Uganda, Africa, to volunteer for
4:53three months, where he helped locals
4:55build huts and houses.
4:59He later said that experience showed him
5:00a bigger world and made him love
5:02traveling even more.
5:05When the two started discussing doing
5:07business together, JN was working as a
5:08salesperson at a software company called
5:10Bamboo.
5:12How did they come up with the idea to
5:14sell wallets?
5:15One day, Jacob and JN went to watch an
5:17NBA Jazz game, and the two sat there
5:19chatting.
5:21As they talked, they said, "Why don't we
5:23try starting a business?"
5:25But the problem was they had no money.
5:26Jacob was living paycheck to paycheck,
5:28so it was impossible for him to put up
5:30money to stock inventory and open a shop
5:32. At this moment, JN thought of
5:34something he had heard about in an
5:36entrepreneurship class at BYU called
5:38Kickstarter.
5:39Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform
5:41in the U.S. Simply put, you put a
5:43product sample or demo up, and if people
5:45like it, they pay to pre-order it.
5:48Once you raise the money, you use those
5:49funds to produce and ship the product.
5:52For Jacob, this model perfectly solved
5:54his biggest problem.
5:56They didn't need to put up cash for
5:57inventory, nor did they need to give
5:59away equity to investors; they only
6:01needed to invest their time and energy.
6:04As for what specifically to sell, he did
6:06something quite characteristic of an
6:08accountant: he looked at the data first
6:10.
6:10He went through past projects on
6:12Kickstarter over and over to see which
6:14categories sold well.
6:16He found that the wallet category
6:17performed consistently, and wallets were
6:19cheap to make, so even if they failed,
6:21the losses wouldn't be great.
6:23More importantly, it is much easier to
6:25convince a stranger to spend $ 20 on a
6:27wallet than it is to convince them to
6:30spend $ 200. Once the direction was set
6:32, the two started making samples in
6:34Jacob's basement. They went to a craft
6:36store in the U.S. to buy materials,
6:38spending about $ 200. When making the
6:41samples, they even used one of Jacob's
6:42wife's running headbands to test the
6:44design.
6:45So, what exactly was special about the
6:47wallet they wanted to make?
6:50They wanted to create a very, very thin
6:52wallet with a pull-tab, so when you pull
6:54it, your frequently used cards pop out.
6:58It sounds simple, but they made over 30
7:00prototypes, constantly revising until
7:02they finally finalized the design, and
7:04they even applied for a patent for that
7:06pull-tab design.
7:08When they first started raising funds on
7:10Kickstarter, they named the brand Basics
7:12.
7:13Just how bare-bones were they at that
7:14time?
7:17The logo was drawn in MS Paint by the
7:18two of them while they were talking on
7:20the phone.
7:22What’s even crazier is that Jacob was
7:24still learning how to sew, so according
7:26to their original plan, he would have to
7:28sew every single order himself.
7:30So, what about marketing?
7:33Their strategy was to email family and
7:35friends and ask them for their support.
7:37And just like that, on September 30,
7:402014, they put the wallet on Kickstarter
7:42with a 30-day campaign and a $ 10,000
7:44goal.
7:46They raised about $ 2,000 on the first
7:48day; sounds pretty good, right?
7:51But it was actually all from friends and
7:53family, and a week later, they were only
7:55getting a few random orders a day.
7:58By about the 15th day, they had already
8:00reached out to everyone they knew,
8:02messaging relatives, friends, and
8:03colleagues one by one.
8:05So, what were they supposed to do then?
8:07You can't keep asking the same group of
8:09friends to buy it again, right?
8:11So they started contacting bloggers and
8:13websites, hoping some editors would be
8:15willing to feature the product.
8:17But the problem was that it was hard to
8:19get the editors 'attention, and at that
8:21point, they felt they wouldn't reach
8:22their goal at that rate.
8:27So they made a crucial decision: they
8:29hired a local marketing firm in Utah
8:31called FundedToday to run Facebook ads,
8:33but how was that marketing fee paid?
8:38Jacob said their partnership was based
8:40on paying a percentage of the total
8:41amount raised.
8:44The more money they raised, the more the
8:45marketing company would earn, and both
8:47sides were happy with that arrangement.
8:50Once they started running ads, their
8:52daily funding soared to $ 8,000.
8:56Jacob said it was his first time doing
8:58online business, and in that moment, he
9:00truly realized how important paid
9:01advertising was and finally understood
9:03the necessity of a complete marketing
9:05plan.
9:06On October 30, 2014, the campaign ended
9:09with 6,158 backers, raising $ 171,315—
9:12over 17 times their original goal—but
9:15then the next question immediately arose
9:18: who was going to make them?
9:21Actually, before the campaign even ended
9:23, Jacob had already started contacting
9:25factories in China because they knew
9:27that with that rate of order growth,
9:28their original plan to sew them by hand
9:30simply wouldn't work.
9:33In the end, they placed an order for
9:3513,000 wallets with a Chinese factory,
9:37even though neither of them had ever
9:39flown over to visit the site themselves
9:40.
9:42However, about a month or two after
9:43customers received the product, the
9:45wallets started fraying.
9:48The opening for the pull-tab was
9:50laser-cut into the elastic band without
9:52proper edge sealing, so the constant
9:54friction caused the edges to unravel.
9:57JN recalls that at the time, he felt the
9:59company might be finished, but Jac was
10:01very proactive in pushing for a solution
10:03.
10:04He went back to the factory to add
10:06reinforcement at the trouble spots and
10:07adjusted the cutting process.
10:09They then rushed a second version,
10:11apologized to their original customers,
10:13and offered a steep discount, inviting
10:15everyone to buy the improved version.
10:18As a result, a few thousand people came
10:20back to purchase, generating about $
10:2285,000 in sales.
10:24But for them, the most valuable part of
10:26this campaign was the customer list.
10:29Simply put, they now had an email list
10:31containing over 8,000 customers.
10:35The reason this list is so valuable is
10:37that they can use it on Facebook to
10:38create something called a "Lookalike
10:40Audience."
10:42In short, you take the 8,000-plus people
10:44who have already bought from you, plug
10:46them in, and tell Facebook to "find
10:48people similar to these users."
10:51Facebook then uses these buyers as a
10:53reference to find others who might be
10:55interested and serves them ads.
10:57At this point, John decided to quit his
10:59full-time job to focus on researching
11:01and running Facebook ads. At the time,
11:03they only had this $ 20 wallet, yet they
11:05still managed to generate about $ 1.5
11:07million in revenue in their first year.
11:10From then on, they turned this into a
11:12standard strategy: every new product was
11:14first launched on Kickstarter for
11:15crowdfunding.
11:17Their product selection method was to
11:19first see which categories consistently
11:20performed well on Kickstarter, ideally
11:22products where they had their own pain
11:24points, and then create a better version
11:26within that category.
11:28For their second product, they chose a
11:30notebook.
11:32But if it were just an ordinary notebook
11:34, customers could buy one at a
11:36stationery store, so why pay online and
11:38wait months for it?
11:40On their crowdfunding page, they
11:42emphasized packing all the features you
11:44use daily into a single notebook.
11:47They combined a planner, work notes,
11:50goal tracking, and to-do lists into one
11:52notebook, included a dedicated pen
11:54holder, and even added erasable
11:55whiteboard pages inside.
11:58In 2015, the Basic Notebook launched,
11:59and this time they continued their
12:01partnership with Funded Today, who had
12:03helped promote their wallet previously.
12:05Additionally, this time they sent
12:07prototypes of the notebook directly to
12:09the media, allowing editors to actually
12:11use them. Before the crowdfunding
12:13campaign even ended in August 2015, a
12:15product review site called dGadget
12:17published a hands-on test of the
12:18notebook.
12:20After receiving a sample from Basics,
12:21the editor compared its size to
12:23Moleskine, tested the paper with
12:25different pens, and showed readers how
12:27the inner pages were organized and used
12:29.
12:30The article wasn't just praise; the
12:32editor liked some of the designs but
12:34suggested the paper could be thicker,
12:35and noted that it was a bit expensive.
12:39Finally, he included a link to the
12:41Kickstarter product page so those who
12:42found the features suitable could
12:44support it directly.
12:46Another media outlet specializing in EDC
12:48also featured their product. On August
12:5029, 2015, the 60-day crowdfunding
12:52campaign concluded with 9,100 backers
12:54and a total of $ 380,000 raised. When
12:57shipping the notebooks, they included a
12:59discount code—a small card welcoming
13:01customers to the Basics family and
13:03offering 20%off future purchases.
13:06If customers liked the notebook and
13:07wanted to buy another or gift one, the
13:09code would come in handy.
13:11Although their first wallet was a
13:13success and their second product, the
13:14notebook, also succeeded, they actually
13:16launched products that failed as well.
13:18They once created a minimalist-style
13:20watch.
13:22By this time, having built a list of
13:24customers who had purchased their
13:26wallets and notebooks, they bypassed
13:28crowdfunding platforms and sold the
13:29watch directly on their own website.
13:33As it turned out, the watch simply
13:34wouldn't sell. Looking back, they
13:36realized customers wanted products with
13:38innovative features.
13:41For instance, their wallets had a
13:42pull-tab design, and their notebooks
13:44included various practical functions,
13:46making it easy for customers to see what
13:48set them apart.
13:51Their watch, however, was minimalist and
13:53nice-looking but lacked standout
13:54features, failing to gain traction in
13:56the market.
13:58However, they later concluded that
13:59failure shouldn't be called failure, but
14:01rather the "tuition" for learning. While
14:03the watch project failed, another
14:05problem emerged: Facebook ads were
14:07becoming more and more expensive. Assume
14:09a $ 20 wallet; if your customer
14:11acquisition cost rises to $ 10, after
14:13deducting product and shipping costs,
14:16there is basically no profit left.
14:18So, they wanted to pivot toward
14:20higher-ticket products. In 2016, while
14:22on vacation, they were frustrated by
14:24their travel bags. At the same time,
14:26they saw that bags were performing well
14:28on Kickstarter, so they returned home
14:30and began researching them.
14:32Jacob mentioned in an interview that
14:34their method for researching travel bags
14:36involved buying the best products on the
14:38market to study them, then using surveys
14:39to ask users what they mainly carried in
14:41their bags.
14:43What is your favorite feature of it? How
14:44do you usually use it? Ask about the
14:46needs first, then decide what to build.
14:49Just as they were researching travel
14:51products, they received a notice—a cease
14:53and desist letter for trademark
14:54infringement.
14:56The problem was with the company name,
14:58BasicsProducts. JN later recalled that
15:00they found over 1,600 trademarks related
15:03to the word "Basics" at the time.
15:06Considering the products they wanted to
15:08launch, they knew they couldn't keep the
15:09name and had to rebrand.
15:12But customers were just getting to know
15:14you; if you change the name now,
15:15wouldn't you lose all the brand equity
15:17you've built up?
15:19And what new name should they choose?
15:22They found a list of thousands of
15:24available domain names with a limit of
15:25seven letters, then picked three that
15:27best fit the brand's direction.
15:31Jacob preferred "Nomadic," but JN wasn't
15:33so sure because he couldn't even
15:35remember it himself.
15:38However, after a preliminary trademark
15:40search yielded no identical results,
15:42they decided to buy the domain and
15:44relaunch as Nomadic.
15:47While changing the name, they kept the
15:49triangular "A" from the original Basics
15:51logo and had a designer refine the
15:53overall visual identity.
15:55Even though the name changed, the
15:57familiar shape remained, giving
15:58customers at least one recognizable
16:00element.
16:03On July 1, 2016, they officially
16:05announced on their website that
16:07BasicsProducts was changing its name to
16:09Nomadic, explaining that the original
16:11vision of simplifying life would remain
16:13, but they would now pivot toward travel
16:15and exploration.
16:18At the same time, they teased the launch
16:20of their first travel bag in July,
16:22inviting interested customers to leave
16:24their email for updates.
16:26By introducing the rebrand alongside the
16:28new product, they let customers know it
16:30was still the same team, just ready to
16:32take on bigger projects.
16:34So, how did they convince customers to
16:36buy this travel bag? They clearly
16:38defined the usage scenarios in their
16:40product copy. For example, if you're
16:42going away for a few days, one bag is
16:44all you need. They highlighted 20
16:46features, noting it could be carried
16:47like a backpack or a duffel bag.
16:50It features a dedicated laptop
16:52compartment, RFID-blocking pockets, a
16:54shoe compartment that holds two pairs,
16:56and a way to separate dirty clothes from
16:58clean ones.
17:00As for pricing, they listed the retail
17:02price at $ 199 on the crowdfunding
17:04platform, with a $ 149 early-bird price
17:07, plus additional discounts for buying
17:09two or more. On July 19, 2016, the
17:12travel bag launched. The $ 20,000
17:14funding goal was reached in just 30
17:16minutes. After one day, the amount
17:18exceeded $ 200,000, and eventually, this
17:21travel bag raised over $ 1.7 million on
17:23Kickstarter.
17:25After the Kickstarter campaign ended,
17:27they brought the product to another
17:29crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo, where
17:31they raised approximately another $ 1.5
17:33million.
17:35These results solidified their belief
17:37that bags could be the company's main
17:39focus, but as products became more
17:41complex, the two founders gradually hit
17:43a bottleneck.
17:44Jacob said that from 2014 to 2018,
17:47product development was primarily
17:49handled by him and Jon personally.
17:52In 2018, they began hiring professional
17:55product designers to give them the
17:57ability to create more complex products
17:59, as their next goal was a suitcase—an
18:01idea sparked by customers constantly
18:03asking if they would release one.
18:07However, knowing people want to buy
18:09something is different from actually
18:11being able to make it; they spent nearly
18:13two years and tested over 25 prototypes
18:15before finally launching the luggage
18:17line in May 2019.
18:21One Pro model features a removable
18:22storage compartment for laptops and
18:24chargers, allowing users to take just
18:26that section out at their destination
18:28instead of dragging the entire suitcase
18:30along.
18:33This luggage line raised over $ 1.2
18:35million on Kickstarter. Also in 2019,
18:37they launched another very important
18:40collaborative product: a camera bag.
18:43They partnered with the well-known
18:44YouTuber Peter McKinnon.
18:48Peter was already a Nomatic user, but he
18:50had a long-standing problem: when going
18:52on short two-day shoots, he had to carry
18:54a heavy camera bag full of gear while
18:56dragging a separate suitcase for clothes
18:58.
19:01He wondered if one bag could solve both
19:03problems.
19:04Peter approached them for a
19:05collaboration with this very idea in
19:07mind.
19:08He knew firsthand how photographers
19:10carry gear and lenses, where existing
19:12bags were inconvenient, and that his
19:14audience likely faced the same struggles
19:16.
19:17Nomatic and Peter spent 18 months
19:19developing the bag.
19:23The final result features adjustable
19:25internal dividers for cameras and lenses
19:27, a dedicated space for clothes, side
19:29access for quick camera retrieval, and
19:31an extra small bag that fits inside for
19:33separate use at the destination.
19:37The entire product launch centered on
19:39this need: allowing photographers to
19:41pack both gear and clothes in one bag,
19:43letting them carry one less bag in total
19:45.
19:48This camera bag raised over $ 2.2
19:49million on Kickstarter, but just as they
19:52were rolling out their women's line,
19:542020 arrived.
19:56For Nomatic, this challenge was even
19:57harder to handle than the previous issue
19:59with their wallet edges peeling. With
20:01the wallets, at least you knew where the
20:03problem was and could change the
20:04materials or the process; but this time
20:06, customers weren't traveling or going
20:08to the office. No matter how good your
20:10travel bag is, people who were supposed
20:12to go on business trips or vacations
20:14were now just staying home. Their
20:16travel-related product sales dropped by
20:18about 60%, so the company began cutting
20:20expenses and eventually had to lay off
20:22staff.
20:23He said this was one of the hardest
20:24decisions they’d ever had to make as
20:26owners.
20:27Just at that time, the camera bag they
20:29collaborated on with Peter entered the
20:31delivery stage; products were already
20:33shipped from the factory and en route to
20:35warehouses, expected to ship in March
20:372020, but the pandemic caused issues
20:39with fulfillment.
20:41They had to explain to customers that
20:43warehouses were operating on shifts,
20:45which slowed down shipping efficiency,
20:46and orders to locked-down regions were
20:48also heavily affected.
20:50By early April, most of the order issues
20:53were finally resolved.
20:55By then, the photography product line
20:56they had invested in began to help out,
20:58effectively recouping almost all of the
21:00sales lost from the travel products.
21:04In fact, as early as late February 2020
21:06, they started gathering feedback for
21:07their next product: "If Peter were to
21:09make an everyday camera backpack next,
21:11what features would you want it to have
21:13?"
21:16This is actually one of the key reasons
21:18for Nomatic’s success—after a
21:20crowdfunding campaign ends, they
21:21continue to ask their backers about
21:23other needs, building products around
21:25the same audience, which is much more
21:27cost-effective than finding new
21:28customers every time.
21:32After the two toughest years of the
21:34pandemic, the travel market saw a
21:35recovery, and Nomatic got back on track
21:37.
21:39Last year's revenue reached $ 32 million
21:41, and their product range expanded
21:43significantly; they’ve launched foldable
21:45bags, apparel, and new luggage.
21:49They have crowdfunded over 15 times on
21:50Kickstarter and are planning to launch a
21:52line for women this year.
21:54Interestingly, of that $ 32 million in
21:57revenue last year, Kickstarter now
21:59accounts for less than 5%.
22:02Most customers now buy through their
22:04official website, followed by Amazon,
22:06and offline retail channels like Costco
22:08and Crate&Barrel also carry their
22:10products.
22:12Regarding costs, their retail price is
22:14about five times the production cost.
22:17It sounds like a lot, but once you
22:18factor in packaging, shipping, returns,
22:21and marketing, the profit isn't as high
22:23as you'd think. That's because marketing
22:25costs today are completely different
22:27from back in 2014.
22:29Social and search ads still account for
22:3170%to 80%of their new traffic, but the
22:33same budget doesn't buy as much as it
22:35used to, so they’ve started sending
22:38direct mail and buying TV ads.
22:42Influencer partnerships are one of their
22:43biggest revenue sources, but what's most
22:45interesting is their post-purchase
22:47survey.
22:48When asked "How did you hear about us?"
22:51, the top answer is "word of mouth."
22:53This means a customer usually needs
22:55about five touchpoints before buying:
22:57seeing an ad, doing their own research,
22:59noticing a friend has the bag, and
23:01asking if it's any good.
23:03If the friend says yes, they finally
23:05decide to buy.
23:08So, in their marketing strategy, they
23:10now look at these touchpoints together:
23:12ads introduce the brand, content builds
23:14understanding, and a friend's experience
23:17is often what finally closes the sale.
23:20Honestly, I believe after hearing Atic's
23:22entrepreneurial story, many people must
23:25be curious: do cousins ever argue when
23:27starting a business together? John has
23:29mentioned in interviews that his
23:30personality is almost the complete
23:32opposite of Jacob's.
23:34Jacob is the type to constantly push
23:36forward, seeing an opportunity and
23:38finding a way to build it, while John
23:40tends to focus on the details, wanting
23:42to perfect the process and product
23:43before moving on.
23:46Just how perfectionistic is John?
23:48He said he wanted to write a book about
23:50partnerships and wrote about 50 pages,
23:52but he kept going back to revise those
23:54pages because he couldn't stand the idea
23:55of finishing the whole book before
23:57editing.
23:58Many people have lots of ideas and
24:00things they want to do, but they always
24:02feel they're not quite ready, so things
24:04stay in the preparation phase
24:05indefinitely.
24:07At times like this, if there's someone
24:09beside you to give a little push, things
24:11can actually get started.
24:13Conversely, if someone only knows how to
24:15rush ahead, they need someone to remind
24:17them, "Wait, is this product really
24:19ready?"
24:20So, I think there's a point easily
24:22overlooked when finding a partner: we
24:24usually prefer to be around people who
24:26are just like us.
24:28They agree with everything you say, you
24:30enjoy chatting, and your visions for the
24:32future align.
24:34But once you start a real business, you
24:36need someone who can see the problems
24:37you don't and is willing to tell you
24:39directly.
24:40Of course, different personalities don't
24:42guarantee good collaboration. You still
24:45need mutual trust and the ability to
24:46voice disagreements. Otherwise, one
24:49thinks the other is too reckless, the
24:50other thinks they're being held back,
24:52and in the end, nothing gets done and
24:54the friendship is ruined. In fact, Jacob
24:56and JN often have very different
24:58opinions, but Jacob says that when they
25:00discuss things, they focus on what is
25:02correct and what is right for the
25:03company; who is right or wrong doesn't
25:05matter. Look at that part earlier about
25:07the wallet production delay; JN's first
25:09reaction was, "Oh my God, it's over.""
25:11Like, we're done, we're out of business
25:13," but Jacob's reaction was, "Let's
25:15figure out a solution.""Let's find a way
25:17." One sees the risk first, the other
25:19sees the solution; that’s how they
25:21complement each other. However, you
25:22can't tell if a partner is a good fit
25:24just by interviewing them. You need to
25:26face things together and encounter
25:28challenges to truly know.
25:30So, I think you should start by doing a
25:31small project together to find a partner
25:33.
25:34Just like how they spent $ 200 to make a
25:37wallet, you'll see who actually does the
25:39work, who is better at design, who is
25:40better at marketing, and who steps up
25:42when things go wrong.
25:44The second thing I want to share is that
25:46many people seeing this story might say
25:48, "That's because they caught Facebook
25:50ads when they were cheap; it's not that
25:52easy to run them now, Facebook ads are
25:54very expensive."
25:55I agree with that.
25:57Timing is indeed important, and the
25:58golden age of Facebook ads has certainly
26:00passed.
26:03As I mentioned in this video before, I
26:05personally believe the current golden
26:07opportunity is AI recommendations,
26:08because many people now just open
26:10ChatGPT or Gemini to ask what they
26:12should buy.
26:15For those interested, you can go back
26:17and watch my video on SEO traffic
26:19strategies, but what I really want to
26:21say is that every era has its own unique
26:23golden opportunities. From 2010 to 2015
26:25, it was likely Facebook ads; from 2015
26:28to 2021, it was influencer marketing;
26:30and today, it is AI recommendations.
26:32Actually, just because a method has been
26:34around for a long time doesn't mean it’s
26:36no longer effective. I can share two
26:38examples from friends of mine.
26:43I had a friend who was doing Kickstarter
26:45back in 2018 and 2019. Many people at
26:47the time thought Kickstarter's peak had
26:50passed, because our guests today, Jacob
26:52and JN, started around 2014, while my
26:55friend was active around 2019. Many were
26:57saying crowdfunding was dead, but what
27:00was his product?
27:03It was a very saturated product: a phone
27:06stand. For a product everyone thought
27:08was impossible to scale, he managed to
27:10raise $ 1 million on Kickstarter in just
27:12three months.
27:14My other friend runs an independent
27:16e-commerce site, having started only in
27:18the last two years.
27:20He sells wigs, and he has never used any
27:22influencers or run a single Instagram ad
27:25.
27:26So, where does his traffic come from?
27:28It’s entirely from SEO and AI
27:29recommendations; editors from media
27:31outlets have even reached out to him,
27:33asking to feature his products on their
27:35sites. Actually, no matter how channels
27:37and traffic strategies change—even with
27:39AI now helping us write articles, edit
27:41videos, and generate images—the product
27:43remains the most important thing.
27:46Which specific problem does your product
27:47solve for the customer, and can you
27:49clearly demonstrate that difference?
27:53This is actually why I wanted to share
27:54this story; Jacob and JN didn't have
27:56everything figured out from the very
27:58beginning.
28:00They just started by making a wallet,
28:02tried to sell it, and kept learning from
28:04customer feedback.
28:06When they hit a roadblock, they found
28:08help; when there were product issues,
28:09they went back and fixed them; when
28:11their initial methods got too expensive
28:13, they recalculated and adjusted their
28:15product and channels.
28:17For me, I find these lessons much more
28:19valuable than the $ 30 million in annual
28:21sales they achieved later—it's about how
28:24they navigated the process along the way
28:26.
28:27This journey is the real purpose behind
28:29these "starting from scratch" videos—
28:31it's not about how much money they
28:33eventually made, but how they got there
28:35.
28:37Another interesting thing I noticed in
28:38this episode is that many
28:40high-performing marketing agencies are
28:41based in Utah. For example, FundedToday
28:44, which ran ads for Omatic back in the
28:46day, as well as Harmon Brothers and
28:48TrumberMedia, all come from Utah. I was
28:50curious, so I looked into it, and there
28:52are mainly two reasons. The first is
28:54that missionary work is essentially like
28:56two years of full-time sales training.
28:58Many young people in Utah go abroad to
28:59serve as missionaries for a year or two
29:01at 18 or 19, where they face constant
29:03cold-calling, rejection, and public
29:05speaking, with many even learning
29:07multiple foreign languages. There’s a
29:09common joke that if you can sell
29:10religion, you can basically sell
29:12anything. In fact, when many Utah
29:13companies are hiring for sales roles,
29:15they often count missionary service
29:17directly as professional work experience
29:19. The second reason is that Utah has a
29:21nickname: it’s known as the "unofficial
29:23direct sales capital of the world."
29:25Many major direct sales companies are
29:27headquartered in Utah, such as Nu Skin,
29:29which generates over a billion dollars
29:31in annual revenue.
29:34Many people who leave those companies
29:35take that direct-sales playbook and use
29:37it to start their own marketing firms.
29:40Finally, I’m curious to ask you: if it
29:42were you, would you go into business
29:44with your family or close friends? Or do
29:46you think it’s better to do it on your
29:48own? Feel free to share your thoughts in
29:50the comments. If you want to see more
29:52inspiring and meaningful
29:53entrepreneurship stories, please like
29:55and subscribe to my channel; if you want
29:57more in-depth e-commerce and AI
29:59tutorials, you can subscribe to my
30:01newsletter.
30:02I’m B-Light, I'll see you in the next
30:04episode. Bye!

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